Chapter 2 A Substitute
If they thought she was worthless, fine. She’d leave them to it.
Five years of trying to make this marriage work, all that love and effort she’d put in… what a waste.
Later, Arthur’s assistant came to handle her discharge paperwork.
Keeping up her act of memory loss, Charlotte looked at the assistant. “Who are you?”
Grace Johnson hesitated briefly. “I’m Mr. Harrison’s assistant. I’m here to take
home.”
you
“Mr. Harrison?”
“The man who was just here. Your husband.”
2/6
Charlotte let out a silent, bitter laugh while keeping her expression neutral and puzzled. “So why would he tell me we’re just friends?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Grace sighed. She couldn’t understand her boss’s thinking. His wife had lost her memory in a car crash, and he chose to call her just a friend.
“Was this an arranged marriage?” Charlotte mused, keeping up her act. “Is that why he’s saying we’re just friends?”
Grace stayed quiet, leaving Charlotte’s question unanswered.
3/6
The car rolled to a stop outside Rose Villa. Charlotte’s chest tightened at the sight of the familiar house.
Unbidden, the image from that photo flooded her mind – Arthur holding Sarah, their bodies close, his eyes soft with a tenderness she’d never seen directed at her. The pain hit her like a physical blow.
These feelings for him, she realized, weren’t going to fade easily.
This was the house they had shared, the place where they’d built their life together. Five years ago, he had been drugged, and she’d woken up in his bed. Their families quickly arranged the marriage, and everything had been set in motion.
On their wedding night, he’d been blunt:
4/6
“I don’t have feelings for you, but I won’t betray you. Let’s just be a marriage of convenience.”
A marriage of convenience meant no love, just business.
She’d agreed.
But gradually, Arthur started controlling every part of her life, telling her what to wear and how to look.
For a while, Charlotte fooled herself into thinking he was starting to care.
She felt hopeful and tried harder to be the perfect wife he seemed to want.
Six months after they married, she got pregnant with Julius, and she started dreaming of a happy family.
5/6
But Arthur never changed. He stayed cold, only showing passion in bed.
And she always fell for it.
Five years later, when she found Sarah’s photo, reality hit her like a splash of cold
water.
Everything about her – her clothes, her hair, her makeup – was copying Sarah!
Now it all made sense. He’d been so involved because he was trying to turn her into Sarah.
She was just a replacement.
After five years together, she finally saw the truth. Her life had been nothing but a cruel joke.
TA
6/6
The tears came without warning.
“Are you okay?” Grace asked, concerned.